By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Have Your Say

Group hoping to keep RCMP in Alberta hosting community engagement sessions

Jan 28, 2022 | 2:19 PM

The KeepAlbertaRCMP Community Engagement Tour has upcoming stops throughout central Alberta.

According to keepalbertarcmp.ca, the group behind it is fighting against a provincial government plan which would scrap RCMP in Alberta in favour of a provincial police force.

The website and movement is maintained and authorized by the National Police Federation, which represents approximately 20,000 RCMP members across Canada, including 3,500 or so in Alberta.

Upcoming dates include (registration here):

Red Deer – Jan. 31
Rocky Mountain House – Jan. 31
Stettler – Feb. 1
Hanna – Feb. 1
Drumheller – Feb. 2
Olds – Feb. 2

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Dec. 21, 2025

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17h ago

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Virtual dates are also being hosted:

January 27, 2022 – 6:30 p.m. MT

February 3, 2022 – 6:30 p.m. MT

As recently as November, Premier Jason Kenney spoke at the Rural Municipalities of Alberta conference, imploring rural leaders to consider the merits of a provincial police force.

He also promised that any added costs won’t be directly downloaded to municipalities.

The report projected it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars more in start-up and operating costs for Alberta to go-it alone on policing, but that there may be more cost-effective service down the line.

rdnewsNOW reached out to Alberta Justice for an update, with their response noting that virtual stakeholder engagement sessions took place in November and December. About 70 more are planned starting this month, with more than 370 municipalities, 48 First Nations, and eight Métis settlements invited.

“The dialogue taking place here in Alberta is part of a growing national conversation about the RCMP’s future in contract policing. At the provincial level, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan are examining the feasibility of a provincial police service to replace the RCMP,” says Jason van Rassel, Justice Ministry communications advisor. “In addition to Surrey, B.C.’s decision to replace the RCMP with a municipal police service, several municipalities in the Maritimes are also exploring this idea.”

Justice’s statement continues with van Rassel pointing out that at the federal level, a House of Commons committee released a report in June 2021 which examined systemic racism in policing in Canada.

“One of the committee’s findings was that the RCMP’s contract policing role makes it difficult for the organization to focus on community policing across the country and provide effective federal policing at the same time. The committee recommended that the federal government should explore the possibility of ending RCMP contract policing and work with provinces, territories and municipalities interested in establishing their own police services,” van Rassel says.

“The federal government has also pointed out many systemic sustainability challenges with RCMP contract policing, and the prime minister’s recent mandate letter to the minister of Public Safety Canada includes a direction to review RCMP contract policing in consultation with provinces, territories and Indigenous communities. Considering the federal government’s own pointed questions about the RCMP’s ability to fulfill its policing mandate, it’s all the more prudent for Alberta to be undertaking this exercise now.”

The transition study, further stakeholder engagement and the online public survey are launching soon if they haven’t already, with each aimed at answering the question of whether this is a worthwhile investment for Alberta to make, van Rassel concludes.

More information on the KeepAlbertaRCMP campaign is at www.keepalbertarcmp.ca.